COLUMBUS, Ohio — Denzel Burke had never been asked to describe his play before.

The question stumped him. He took a minute, and described what opposing wide receivers, whether it’s on the practice field or in games, see every day.

“Really technical, physical, I like to talk a little mess sometimes,” the freshman cornerback said. “I just always want to be in your face.”

Maybe that’s why opposing quarterbacks have not wanted to go his way.

Burke burst onto the scene as a true freshman, manning that No. 1 cornerback spot for the Ohio State defense along with senior Sevyn Banks and redshirt junior Cameron Brown.

Through his first three games, Burke was tested on the outside. His receiver was targeted 22 times against Minnesota, Oregon and Tulsa. But in those games, the receiver brought in only 10 catches for 104 yards with a reception no longer than 13 yards. In those three games, Burke also recorded five pass breakups.

Since then, the targets for Burke have dropped dramatically.

The freshman has seen 12 targets in the last four games with receivers bringing in five catches for 47 yards, while also recording his first career interception against Rutgers.

“I think teams are starting to respect me a little more,” Burke said. “At the same time, I really want them to test me. But if they don’t, they don’t.”

No receiver has had longer than a 15-yard catch against Burke this season, who’s allowed 11 total yards after catch this season on 15 receptions.

This is a number Jahan Dotson is ready to test.

The senior receiver leads Penn State with 49 receptions, 563 yards and six touchdowns — four more than any offensive skill player on the roster. Dotson has recorded at least five receptions in each game he’s played this season, eclipsing 100 yards against Wisconsin and Villanova, while bringing in two touchdown receptions against Indiana Oct. 2.

In Penn State’s nine-overtime loss to Illinois last week, Dotson brought in six catches for 69 yards.

Dotson’s been more consistent with catches than he has ever been, bringing in a career-high 64.5% of his targets, recording his first drop of the season last week against the Fighting Illini, something that plagued him as a junior: recording four in nine games.

The senior receiver knows what it’s like to beat Ohio State’s secondary.

After bringing in one reception for six yards against the Buckeyes as a sophomore, Dotson exploded as a junior, brining in eight receptions for 144 yards and three touchdowns in the Nittany Lions’ 38-25 loss to Ohio State in State College, Pa.

This is something Burke doesn’t expect to see in his one-on-one matchup with Dotson.

“You go out there trust your technique, trust what you’ve been playing,” Burke said. “And I guard the best in the nation, so I just apply what I do with them to what I do with him and their receiving corps.”

To Burke, it comes down to being as physical as he can, locking in every rep and every drive, even if he’s not being targeted.

It’s about remaining technical, physical, talking a little mess when he needs to.

Even when the season continues and he sees the same attributes of his game in the receivers he’s covering, Burke’s mentality does not change.

“Just do my thing.”